Palmer drops $1.8b claim against liquidators

by Vanessa Marsh

10th Oct 2018 4:55 AM
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WANNABE politician Palmer has dropped a $1.8 billion counterclaim against the liquidators of his Queensland Nickel refinery who are pursuing him in the Supreme Court over claims he owes hundreds of millions of dollars to creditors.

Mr Palmer brought the enormous claim against John Park of FTI Consulting and special purpose liquidator Stephen Parberry in April this year.

Clive Palmer outside Brisbane Supreme Court. Picture: AAP/Dave Hunt

At the time he said the claim was "for damages caused to me and my companies" as a result of the long-running legal dispute over the refinery's 2016 collapse.

"This politically motivated witch hunt has gone on for two years and has been an incredible waste of taxpayers' money," he told media.

But the claims were today dropped during a hearing in Brisbane's Supreme Court.

"The withdrawal of these claims supports the Special Purpose Liquidator's view that such claims should never have been filed as they failed to have a proper basis," a spokesman for the liquidators said.

"The SPLs are committed to ensuring the claims QNI has issued in the Supreme Court are heard on 29 April 2019 as currently timetabled and without further delay."

Mr Palmer's lawyers have applied to have the trial listed for next year cancelled, saying there is too much paperwork to sift through in the allotted time frame.

It comes after Justice John Bond recused himself from the case after Mr Palmer and his companies accused him of apprehended bias.